In regard to aftermarket wakeboard towers, what exactly allows them to fit different size boats? In other words, what part of the tower is adjustable? Does it slide, is it in the mounts, or what?
If you look at the section I have circle on the right, the legs swivel and part 9 rotates as well to allow the legs of this tower to match the dimensions of your boat.
The bases shown in the left image also swivel to match the various surfaces of your boat. On my tower the back bases are mounted as shown in the image, but the front attach to the side of my boat.
Excellent! Thanks for taking the time to post that image and explain it. That makes perfect sense. Do you find with that many non-welded joints that there is any rattling or creaking of the tower? By the way, what brand tower is that?
It's a Monstertower MT1. They have their install manual on their website if you want to look at the entire process. I have it on my Bayliner 175 and it doesn't make any noise.
Where parts 8 and 10 come together you drill another 2 holes (they pre-drill one part so you only have to go through the other) and so that joint gets 3 bolts. The joint at parts 8 and 11 can still swivel as you need to fold them if you put the tower down. With part 9 you can see a hole for a set screw and there are 2 on each side to tighten that joint. I put my tower on last fall and it seems to be really solid.
If you look at their install manual for the MTE tower you'll see what I mean with the extra 2 holes. I would suspect that the original design was as shown in the image but that they added the extra 2 bolts to strengthen that joint.
That's even better news. I've been looking at the Monster towers to go on our Bayliner 1950, so seeing that yours is a Monster and on a Bayliner is great to hear.
Anything you don't like about it or wish it had? If you don't mind my asking, what made you choose the MT1 out of their line and why the Monster out of all the brands? Was it functional reasons or appearance reasons? I've considered the MTE and MT1 as well as glanced at other brands.
Just to add my 2 cents. I also have the same tower on my Doral and was surprised to see how stiff it is. No flex and no noise even when riding doubles (2 riders). Very sweet set-up and very low maintenance. I recently installed lights and speakers and running the wires was a breeze, also the extra weight of the equipement on the tower did not change anyhting, still noise less and very sturdy!
I liked the price first and foremost and then contacted the company and got great service , also got feedback from tower owners and decided to go with the tower. Only positives since!
Overall I was looking good quality at an economy price. I didn't like the look of the MTE so I went with the MTI. I also picked up the blemished version and haven't found scratches that standout.
I had a problem with one of the parts being bent at the base while I was assembling it. This was likely my fault but they replaced the part quickly. For the price range I think it's a good deal.
I'll second (third?) Monster;s excellent support. I bought two used Monster racks for my MT1 tower. They didn't have the right sized inserts. One email to Monster and one week later, I received the correct inserts and a couple of coozies - No charge!
HTH
Tom
Thanks for all the great feedback - especially on the Monster towers. I even received the email blast today that iBoats is now handling them. One thing I've noticed in all the "fold down" photos is that every accessory is removed. Doe every single accessory have to be removed for the tower to fold down?
